Cable companies mull ditching sports stations to cut customers’ bills

Believe it or not, cable companies are actually trying to think of ways to lower their customers’ bills. The Wall Street Journal reports that cable providers have started listening to customer complaints that their cable bills are being driven up by heavily subsidized sports stations that they never watch. The reasons cable providers are considering abandoning sports networks are fairly obvious: As the Journal notes, “sports channels such as ESPN and regional sports networks account for 19.5% of fees paid by cable and satellite operators,” despite the fact that the audience for sports stations amounts “to about 4% or less of households on average.” With cord cutting becoming an increasingly prevalent phenomenon, it’s not surprising that cable companies are trying to get more creative in their ways to retain pay TV customers and sports stations look like a good early candidate for the chopping block.